Legal Highlights for Real Estate – March 2025
Land register numbers constitute personal data
On 28 January 2025, the Supreme Administrative Court (“SAC”) issued a precedent-setting ruling (case no. III OSK 6508/21), holding that the land register number is personal data within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation. The case concerned the provision of these numbers on the GEOPORTAL2 portal, which allowed users to easily access the full content of electronic land records.
The dispute began with an inspection by the Office for the Protection of Personal Data (“OPA”), which found that the country’s chief surveyor had violated regulations by making data obtained from land and building registries available to the public. OPA fined him PLN 100,000, arguing that the disclosed data pertained to, among other things, individuals and allowed them to be identified.
The surveyor’s argument that the land register number does not constitute personal data was rejected by both the Regional Administrative Court in Warsaw and the SAC. The courts ruled that the publication of this data violated the provisions of the Land and Mortgage Registers Act, since the land register numbers were also links to the full contents of the electronic land registers. SAC confirmed that with the help of the land register number, it is easy to access information that constitutes personal data.
Draft of deregulation bill
On 5 April 2024, the Ministry of Development and Technology presented a draft deregulation bill (the “Act”) aimed at facilitating business operations. The Act contains a number of changes postulated by entrepreneurs in recent years and promised during last year’s election campaign.
The Act, which aims to simplify regulations and reduce bureaucratic burdens, is expected to introduce significant changes to Polish business law. The new regulations are intended to improve the competitiveness of enterprises and facilitate business operations.
Key changes include:
- the “one in, one out” principle, which requires the removal of one administrative obligation in exchange for the introduction of a new one.
- extending the vacatio legis to at least six months to give entrepreneurs more time to adapt to the new regulations.
- electronic leasing agreements that can be concluded without a qualified electronic signature.
- shortening the inspection time from 12 to 6 days and regulating the frequency of inspections.
- the possibility of conducting appeal proceedings remotely and other simplifications in administrative procedures.
Other changes include the possibility of drawing up electronic bills of exchange, simplification of the definition of craftsmanship, abandonment of the obligation to use stamps and the possibility for persons conducting unregistered activities to use the PESEL number in business transactions.
The Act is a response to the demands of entrepreneurs and aims to create a more business-friendly legal environment in Poland. Entrepreneurs should carefully review the new regulations to take full advantage of their potential and avoid potential difficulties related to their implementation.
